200
Epworth homes bulldozed as Harare announces “a blitz”

A government owned company on Sunday
demolished the homes of over 200 Epworth families, after giving them only
48-hours notice to vacate the premises.

The development comes as the
city of Harare embarks on what the Health Director has called a blitz to
“regularize” shops and “restore sanity”. There are already concerns that the
capital will face another mass demolition similar to “Operation
Murambatsvina”.

The Epworth families were asleep when the bulldozers
arrived early Sunday morning, from a development company called Sunway City.
The company had acquired a High Court order, claiming the structures were
illegal and built on land reserved for light industrial
development.

Many of the families, after organizing and building homes
under the Chinamano Cooperative, lost everything and had nowhere to go.
Christopher Kembo, head of the Cooperative, reportedly said the notice did
not give them enough time to make other arrangements for the
victims.

According to the state run Herald newspaper, Kembo said they had
appealed to the authorities at Sunway City for a grace period “to make
decent arrangements to shelter the affected families”, but the plea fell on
deaf ears.

Sunway City is a subsidiary of the government owned
Industrial Development Corporation of Zimbabwe Limited
(IDC).

Precious Shumba, Coordinator at the Harare Residents Trust (HRT),
expressed deep concern at the development, saying there is a lot of
corruption involving councillors and other city officials in
Harare.

“There is a lot of corruption in the housing cooperatives,
involving the Department of Urban Planning and officials at the Department
of Housing and Community Services. Many people, including councillors, have
formed their own cooperatives and are being conniving,” Shumba
explained.

He added that many of the councillors have forgotten where
they came from and now represent the interests of the city management
officials, instead of the residents that elected them.

According to
Shumba the council allocates land, which includes commercial stands, to the
cooperatives. They then charge the cooperative for servicing the commercial
stands. The charges include water and sewage reticulation, mandatory gravel
roads, and new charges that are known as “intrinsic
charges”.

Meanwhile the Director of Health in the Harare City
Council is alleged to have recently announced that the city will undertake a
blitz and close all illegal shops, in order to regularise business
structures.

Asiagate:
13 life bans, 80 suspended

THIRTEEN players and officials have been banned for
life from football and 80 others have been suspended after being found
guilty of match fixing, the Zimbabwe Football Association said
Tuesday.

No names were released, but ZIFA confirmed that eight players
had been exonerated by a committee led by retired High Court judge Ahmed
Ibrahim which investigated allegations national team players and officials
took cash payments from Asian betting syndicates between 2007 and 2009 to
lose matches.

In a statement after he handed over his findings to the
ZIFA board, Justice Ibrahim said: “My committee has just completed a task
which it embarked on about 11 months ago. It has been a tortuous, stressful
period in our lives and we have been operating with virtually no
resources.

“We have been maligned and some of our members have been
libelled and received virtually no co-operation in securing documentation to
effectively carry out our task.”

Justice Ibrahim said his committee –
which had already cleared 40 players before Tuesday – had recommended life
bans on 13 individuals, believed to include Henrietta Rushwaya, the former
ZIFA CEO fingered in a previous internal investigation as the local lynchpin
of the corruption.

Seven individuals will be banned from football for 10
years; 37 were handed five-year bans; 25 players and officials will be
banned for two years; two received suspended two-year bans; six will be
sidelined for a year and one player is to receive a six month
ban.

FIFA has said it will work with ZIFA to effect the sanctions
globally – meaning the affected players and officials would be banned from
football activities worldwide.

"Today will go down as a sad,
depressing day in the annals of history of the game in Zimbabwe," said
Justice Ibrahim.

He said what the investigation has revealed "may well
only be the proverbial tip of the iceberg".

ZIFA president Cuthbert
Dube also believes that there is more work to be done."We will not step
down until we clean up football," he said. "There is match-fixing in the
premier league and in Division One, and we are not pleased with the standard
of our referees.”

Zimbabwe rights probe to ignore pre-2009 abuses

By Reagan Mashavave (AFP)
– 2 hours ago

HARARE — Zimbabwe's human rights commission will not
investigate abuses committed before a power-sharing government was formed in
2009, according to the text of a law obtained by AFP on
Tuesday.According to the law, which has already come into effect, the probe
will not cover abuses committed during controversial land clearances or in
the run-up to violence-plagued elections in 2008.The commission will
look into any abuses providing the investigation "shall not relate to an
action or omission that occurred earlier than the February 13,
2009".That was the date at which the power-sharing cabinet was sworn in,
with President Robert Mugabe's political archfoe Morgan Tsvangirai becoming
prime minister.The creation of the human rights commission is part of a
package of reforms agreed to by the unity government.According to the
act, the panel will provide redress for violations of human rights and for
injustices.It will be able to "conduct investigations on its own initiative
or on receipt of complaints".But critics said the panel's scope is so
narrow as to be close to meaningless.Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights
called on the government to "urgently establish an independent and credible
mechanism to deal with issues relating to past human rights violations and
atrocities"."This independent mechanism must be mandated to deal with all
past human rights violations."The organisation said such an inquiry
should investigate crimes committed during the colonial period as well as
post-independence ethnic violence and the Mugabe government's "Operation
Murambatsvina".The operation, which in the Shona language means "clean out
the rubbish", was a series of forced slum evictions which began in 2005 and
resulted in 700,000 people losing their homes and affected 2.4 million
people according to a UN report.Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights said
the panel should also investigate violence ahead of the 2008 vote.Human
rights groups reported that the vote was marred by numerous instances of
political assassination, state-sponsored torture and beatings.Tsvangirai's
Movement for Democratic Change party which has said over 300 of its
supporters were murdered in political violence in 2008 welcomed the rights
law but said they hope a new constitution will allow for a probe of past
rights abuses."This is a positive step. The human rights commission has been
paralysed because of lack of enabling legislation," Douglas Mwonzora, MDC
spokesperson, told AFP."The MDC has always been opposed to the cut-off
date on the basis it could shield human rights perpetrators before February
2009.""In the draft constitution there is the peace and reconciliation
commission which deals with historical abuses. So if the constitution is
passed there will be a law which will deal with past human rights abuses,"
he said.Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa, said the MDC had agreed to the
panel's terms of reference."The problem with the MDC is that they
continue to shift positions, they agreed to the human rights act," Chinamasa
said.Charles Mangongera, an independent political analyst, pointed out that
the new human rights law does not empower the commission to
prosecute."This country has a history of human rights violations. If we are
to move forward we need to look in our ugly past," Mangongera told
AFP."As long as we are trying to sweep some issues under the carpet there is
a problem.""Certainly the Zimbabweans that I know from every part of the
country would want a genuine process of healing, restoration and
reconciliation," he said.He said the new law shows the problems that come
with a compromise government born out of negotiations.

Malema: whites
must give back land, minerals

EXPELLED ANC Youth League
leader Julius Malema has called on South African whites to surrender land
and minerals resources because “when they came from Europe they did not
carry any land into South Africa”.

“Actually they killed people to get
that land and those minerals.

“We are not going to give them money when
we take the land back because it will be like we are thanking them with
money for killing our people.

“We will never do that. Little did they
know that we are not scared of blood. We are scared of defeat.

“We
don’t want to be defeated but seeing blood is not what we are scared of as
long as that blood delivers what belongs to us we are prepared to go to that
extent.”

Malema was speaking at a posh Harare wedding reception held in
one of the most expensive suburbs in Harare.

He told guests that
Zimbabwe’s “achievements” were an “inspiration to Africa” at a time when
Zimbabwe is begging SA and Angola for loans of nearly R1 billion as the
treasury in Harare is empty.

“We want to be remembered as a generation of
economic freedom fighters,” Malema said.

His wedding speech was
reported in the pro Zanu-PF daily, The Herald, but he was not available to
confirm if it quoted him accurately.

“We are coming here to Zimbabwe not
because we are running away from problems, but to gain strength because what
you have achieved is an inspiration to Africa,” the Herald reported Malema
as saying.

“Don’t listen to imperialist newspapers. You have achieved a
lot.

“You are running your own country, you have been managing your own
affairs and you are not controlled by foreigners.

“We are not a
generation of mini-skirts. We are a generation that continues with the
struggle of President [Robert] Mugabe, of President [Nelson]
Mandela.”

At a time when there are at least 40 political prisoners in
appalling conditions in Zimbabwe’s filthy maximum security prison, Malema
praised Mugabe for delivering “political freedom and democracy”.

He
made a long speech, which the Herald said made many of the well-heeled
guests laugh.

Malema said he was in Harare to attend a “beautiful
wedding so we left our political vocabulary at home…

“We want to
dance and enjoy Zimbabwe and we want to see what Harare will offer
us.”

Malema said he and his colleagues had been to Zimbabwe many times
and were hosted by indigenisation minister Saviour Kasukawere, who he
referred to by his nickname, Tyson.

“When I was coming to this
wedding, they said in South Africa that I was running away from problems and
I was coming to seek asylum here in Zimbabwe.

“Little did they know that
I will never run away from South Africa. I will never run away from problems
because problems are my life.’

He handed over a gift of about R50 000 to
the bride Tendai Wenyika and her new husband, Mike Gava.

Malema told
the couple: “You must never be ashamed of having many kids; you must be
ashamed of having many wives”, in an evident reference to polygamous
President Jacob Zuma, his arch-enemy.

“Many wives are not an
alternative. They spread diseases because that is multisexual relationship
and they are not protected.”

Malema was not available for comment but had
a message for callers on his cellphone yesterday: “At the end of everything
else we will not remember the words uttered by the enemy… we will remember
the silence of our friends during this difficult time. Never surrender.
Never retreat. Victory is certain.”

Mugabe
and Tsvangirai considering COPAC takeover

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and
Robert Mugabe are reported to be considering changes to the constitutional
reform exercise, which would give them the final word in a process that is
supposed to be run by parliament.

According to The Standard newspaper the
two principals issued a directive to the Minister for Parliamentary and
Constitutional Affairs, Eric Matinenga, to “take over the administration of
COPAC” ahead of the second all-stakeholders conference. Justice Minister
Patrick Chinamasa was reportedly present.

But Matinenga categorically
refused, insisting that the process, as defined by the Global Political
Agreement (GPA), is to be managed by a committee of parliament (COPAC).
Matinenga is reported to have advised Mugabe and Tsvangirai not to interfere
with that process by making executive decisions.

Matinenga confirmed to
SW Radio Africa that he spoke to The Standard newspaper and said he stands
by his conviction that constitutional reform should run its course as
dictated by Article 6 of the GPA, under COPAC management. But he would not
be drawn into discussing the meeting with the Principals.

Phillip
Pasirayi, spokesperson for the Crisis Coalition, told SW Radio Africa that
he was surprised and shocked at the Prime Minister for taking part in such a
meeting and for allowing ZANU PF to drag him into their political
games.

“We would have expected the PM to resist. I am surprised he is
being roped in by ZANU PF into this illegal game that is against the GPA. We
all know ZANU PF has never been interested in genuine constitutional reform.
Look at the road that the process has taken, with ZANU PF using thugs to
resist,” Pasirayi said.

The activist said civil society has always
pointed to the fact that there is no separation of powers in Zimbabwe and
the Executive is vested with “imperial powers”. By working with Mugabe to
take over the constitutional process, Tsvangirai would have joined the ZANU
PF ranks and ignored the people.

Pasirayi also commended Minister
Matinenga for standing by his convictions on the issue. He said as a lawyer
Matinenga knows the takeover of COPAC would be illegal and against the
GPA.The entire constitutional reform exercise has been strongly criticized
by a number of civil society groups and observers, who say the COPAC draft
does not represent the views of the people and that the process was hijacked
by the three political parties.

The outreach programme was marred by
intimidation and assaults on participants who were described as “sellouts”
by ZANU PF supporters, who came with pre-written contributions. Critics say
the people were silenced from the beginning.

In rural areas many did
not understand what should be in a constitution and were unable to make
contributions that were meaningful.

Mudede
accredited as ZANU PF delegate for Stakeholders Conference

Register-General Tobaiwa Mudede was
on Tuesday accredited to attend the 2nd All-Stakeholders Conference as a
ZANU PF delegate. The 68 year-old Mudede has been in charge of all elections
held in the country since 1985. His critics have charged him with
manipulating the elections in favor of Robert Mugabe and ZANU PF, a charge
he has always denied.

The COPAC gathering on the draft governance charter
is set to begin on Sunday in Harare and ends on Tuesday. The three day
conference will be attended by at least 1 101 delegates, among them 246
political party representatives, 284 MPs and 571 civil society groups
representatives.

Local and foreign observers, including journalists, will
be accredited on Friday. Every diplomatic Embassy in Harare has also been
invited to send officials to observe the proceedings. The exercise has
reportedly been declared a success following the smooth accreditation of
delegates at 10 centres designated throughout the country.

Only in
Mutare were there minor problems when the printing machine for the ID cards
broke down. It was quickly fixed and the accreditation exercise was
completed without further hitches.

Our correspondent Simon Muchemwa
told us reports that Mudede will attend the conference as a ZANU PF delegate
did not surprise the MDC formations.

He said Douglas Mwonzora, the MDC-T
spokesman and COPAC co-chairman, told him they were happy Mudede had finally
come out of the closet to declare his allegiance to the former ruling
party.

Recently Mudede claimed the much criticized voters roll was
perfect, despite numerous checks proving otherwise. For example as of 1st
October 2012 there were 366,550 new voters who had not appeared on any
previous roll. 16,033 of these voters were over the age of 70 while 1,488 of
them were over 100. Over 200 of the new registered voters were small
children and dozens more were listed from the same house, bearing the same
date of birth.

EU
chief warns of relapse

HARARE - The European Union
ambassador to Zimbabwe regrets the recent arrest of a Cabinet minister and
journalists by police in moves he says are a form of political
intimidation.

Aldo Dell’Ariccia told the Daily News in an interview that
the timing of Energy minister Elton Mangoma’s arrest, in particular, was
questionable.

Mangoma was arrested in the capital last week for his
alleged Mugabe must go jibe during a political address to MDC supporters in
Bindura five months ago.

“We respect the law of the country and we
acknowledge that it is unlawful in Zimbabwe to insult the President. Now the
fact is that the arrest of Mangoma about five months after the alleged
insult and barely 10 days before the All-Stakeholders Conference is
regrettable.

That generates a situation that might lead to an
interpretation of this arrest as political intimidation,” the EU chief told
the Daily News.

Dell’Ariccia said the MDC deputy treasurer’s arrest at a
time the three political parties in the power sharing Global Political
Agreement (GPA) were preparing for the Second All-Stakeholders
Constitutional Conference, was disturbing.

The Second
All-Stakeholders’ Conference gives political party representatives and the
civic society organisations an opportunity to discuss the draft from the
Constitution Select Committee (Copac) after an outreach programme in which
people’s views were gathered.

It is not a drafting
conference.

“With all due respect to the course of justice in the
country, intimidation would be regrettable in a moment like this when the
country is preparing to take a crucial step in the completion of the
constitution, an exercise in which minister Mangoma himself has a crucial
role to play.

“We have seen in the past cases of political harassment and
intimidation in the run-ups to previous elections in Zimbabwe and even at
that time it has been a matter of concern that we have expressed to the
authorities,” said the EU head of mission.

“We hope the arrest of
Mangoma and other arrests or harassments of political activists are not an
indication that we are back to that negative trend because if this were the
case, this could undermine the credibility of the whole process.

“And
in particular, it would be in contradiction with President Robert Mugabe’s
calls for a non-violent atmosphere and peaceful environment for the
elections,” he said.

Mugabe
holding Zimbabwe back: Ibrahim

Zimbabwe should be a powerhouse in Africa but its stagnant
political leadership under President Robert Mugabe is holding it back, good
governance advocate Mo Ibrahim says.

The founder of the Ibrahim Index
of African Governance told AFP that Zimbabweans needed to "get their act
together" if the country headed by 88-year-old Mugabe was to end its
political impasse and move forward.

And African leaders should be
brutally honest in criticising heads of government who drag their countries
down, the Sudan-born telecoms tycoon said.

He was speaking after his
foundation announced that for the third time in four years it would not
award its Prize for Achievement in African Leadership -- the world's biggest
individual prize -- as no suitable candidates were found.

Ibrahim
said: "Zimbabwe should have been a success story. It is a wonderful country
with wonderful resources but unfortunately is at a political impasse. That
is really a problem.

"We really hope the Zimbabwean people will somehow
come together to resolve this impasse and enable the country to move
forward.

"It's unfortunate to have this kind of stagnation in the
political scene which is affecting the performance of the
country.

"The Zimbabwean people are among some of the best-educated
Africans and very enterprising. So let's hope that they get their act
together and somehow we see Zimbabwe rising again."

A shaky
power-sharing government was formed in 2009 following violent polls. Mugabe
and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai struck a deal to avoid a tip into a
full-fledged conflict.

"The past generation, most African leaders came
from freedom-fighting, liberation movements. A good fighter is not
necessarily a good governor. It takes different skills to run a country,"
Ibrahim said.

Zimbabwe ranked 47th out of 52 African countries in the
2012 Ibrahim Index unveiled Monday, with a score of 34 out of 100 -- making
it the worst-performing country in the otherwise high-ranking southern
Africa.

Ibrahim said there was a "collegiate atmosphere" among African
leaders where they do not criticise one another publicly.

"We hope
this is changing. We need to have the courage to stand up and say look, this
is wrong," he said.

"If you look in a mirror and see an ugly face, maybe
you are really ugly. It's not the fault of the mirror. We need to be a
little bit more brutal in order to move forward. We need more honesty to say
the tough things.

Farmers
Not Accessing Agricultural Inputs

The
forthcoming agricultural season looks disastrous as some farmers are failing
to access agricultural inputs while the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) appears
to have scaled down its free seed and fertilizer scheme owing to the massive
abuse of the program last year by some politicians and farmers aligned to
Zanu PF.

While the government insists that agricultural inputs will be
readily available this year, observers said communal farmers are set to
struggle to get maize seed, fertilizer and loans as they owe the banking
sector over $90 million.

On the other hand, indications are that the
GMB is failing to raise over $22 million for rolling out its perennial seed
and fertilizer input scheme.

Deputy Agriculture Minister Seiso Moyo told
VOA Studio 7 despite these drawbacks preparations for the forthcoming crop
season are in full swing.

“We hope that farmers will access the required
inputs though there are some challenges in some areas,” said
Moyo.

Commercial farmer Themba Dlodlo of Mbangazitha Farm in Matabeleland
South Province said poor planning will have a devastating effect on the next
crop season.

Politicians linked to President Robert Mugabe's
party, who abused the state-sponsored GMB agricultural inputs last season,
have not yet been punished.

Zimbabwe ran out of fertilizer and seed
at the onset of the rain season when the politicians descended on the GMB
and grabbed all the inputs for resale.

Zimbabwe
military accused of campaigning for Mugabe

There are growing concerns among Zimbabwean
political parties and civic organisations that President Robert Mugabe – in
power since independence from Britain in 1980 – is using the military to lay
the groundwork for the 88 year old leader's campaign for re-election in
elections expected next year.The military is believed to be pivotal in
Mugabe’s continued stay in power, with army generals previously indicating
that they would not salute anyone other than Mugabe. Inconclusive and bloody
elections in 2008 lead to the current coalition government
structure.

But the government of national unity has not been cohesive,
with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC-T calling for security sector
reforms and at one time saying army generals should retire from the military
if they are interested in active politics. Mugabe’s Zanu-PF is opposed to
crucial security sector reforms.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's
MDC and the other smaller MDC lead by Professor Welshman Ncube have
complained of the deployment of soldiers across the country where soldiers
are effectively urging people to vote for Mugabe.

Although it could
not be immediately ascertained how many army personnel had been deployed for
alleged campaigning purposes, defenceWeb has been told that the military has
deployed personnel to some areas in two of Zimbabwe’s large provinces,
Manicaland – in eastern Zimbabwe – and Masvingo, along the road to the Beit
Bridge border post with South Africa.

“There is a heavy presence of
military people in Manicaland and Masvingo and people are afraid that the
presence of soldiers is meant to force them to vote for Zanu-PF and
President Mugabe in the forthcoming elections,” a civic society leader said
over the weekend.

Traditional leaders in Masvingo are being summoned to
attend meetings at the 4 Brigade headquarters. Reports say senior military
officers are using the meetings with traditional leaders to map strategies
aimed at swaying the vote in favour of Mugabe, who has enhanced military
ties and cooperation with China.

Soldiers have also been allegedly
disrupting political rallies of some parties, with Ncube’s MDC being the
most affected after soldiers stormed his party’s rally in Mutoko.

The
army has denied that its members are disrupting political rallies, with army
spokesperson, Alphios Makotore insisting that the military was not involved
in such incidents. There was no immediate comment from Zanu-PF on concerns
that it is using the military to lay the groundwork for Mugabe’s re-election
campaign.

However, Kurauone Chihwayi, a spokesperson in Ncube’s MDC said
soldiers in two trucks stormed the MDC rally in Mutoko earlier this month
and “assaulted” supporters “viciously”.

Elections are now more
likely next year although the MDC parties are opposing Mugabe’s March 2013
election date, saying the coalition government must complete crucial reforms
for the security sector, the media and the electoral framework.

Human
rights and civic organisations have called for the Zimbabwean military to be
non-partisan and to respect the constitution.

“The military has no place
in politics; they should stay in their barracks and desist from attacking
those they see as opposing Zanu PF and Mugabe. We are afraid that the fresh
elections that are being called for March next year could be too early as
security sector reforms need to be put in place to reign in the military
ahead of the elections,” said a civic society leader.

In November
last year the Southern Africa Report, which focuses on political and
economic intelligence issues in Africa, said that the Zimbabwe Defence Force
had taken delivery of “the first of several consignments of Chinese small
arms and equipment,” including 20 000 AK-47 assault rifles, uniforms, a
dozen trucks and 21 000 pairs of handcuffs.

MDC
Condemns Harassment of Civil Servants

The MDC is appalled by the
victimisation of Ms Vannesa Ivy Muranda, a teacher at Magunje High School in
Karoi by the Acting Headmaster, Gedion Manaona who is evicting her from a
school house on perceived allegations for supporting a party of her
choice.

It is alleged that the Mr Manaona, a known Zanu PF supporter is
forcing the teacher to vacate the school house and seek alternative
accommodation outside the school premises accusing her of wearing MDC party
T-shirts within the school premises.

Ms Muranda denies the charge and
has said this is political victimisation for supporting a party of her
choice ahead of Zanu PF which Mr Manaona is a member of.

The MDC
condemns the continued attack and victimisation in the strongest terms of
civil servants across the country.

The party reiterates its position that
political victimisation in public schools has no place in a new Zimbabwe.The
MDC stands firm as it has always done for its supporters, during times of
persecution by Zanu PF and the party assures all Zimbabweans that the time
for real change in Zimbabwe is nigh.

The folly of the Acting
Headmaster at Magunje High can only be attributed to the wide and confirmed
history of Zanu PF - the history of violence, evictions, abductions, murder;
harassment - the list is endless.

The transformation of this country
rests on each and every man and woman in their spheres to guard against Zanu
PF's violent nature and condemn it into the abyss through the ballot paper
come 2013.

Two
MDC members abducted

Two MDC members Emanuel Kambarami and Andrew Vera
were abducted by five heavily armed secret State security agents at their
homes in Mpopoma, Bulawayo on Wednesday night.16.10.12

by MDC
Information & Publicity Department

Kambarami is the chairperson for
ward 9 Mpopoma constituency while Vera is the Youth Assembly ward
chairperson.

After the night raid, the two activists were taken to Magnet
House, which is the Central Intelligence Organisation provincial head office
where they were heavily assaulted during interrogation which lasted into the
early hours of the next day. The notorious Magnet House, which is used as a
torture base by the CIO operatives, is owned by Obert Mpofu, a Zanu PF
Politburo member.

According to the two MDC members, the merchants of
torture claimed that they wanted to know which perceived “faction” the two
belonged to and who had written an MDC slogan, which read; “MDC Kwese Kwese”
at Sikanyiso Ndlovu’s house at Block 59 in Mpopoma.

Ndlovu is a Zanu
PF Politburo member.

The State security agents also took photographs of
the two victims and threatened them not to go to the press as they would
abduct them again and make them disappear for good. However, the two said
they would not be intimidated by the acts of the CIO operatives who were
working on the orders of disgruntled Zanu PF politicians who are facing
defeat in the next elections in 2013.

Since their release, they have
been receiving anonymous calls and being visited by strange people driving
unmarked vehicles.

Kambarami and Vera are currently receiving treatment
for injuries sustained during the assault.

Meanwhile, police in
Mberengwa have concluded that a faulty refrigerator thermostat sparked the
fire that gutted down the shop of Charles Ndovisai, a war veteran whose shop
Gumbo, the Zanu PF spokesperson claimed was torched by MDC
youths.

The police said there were two 20 litre containers full of petrol
and a generator, which vaporised due to the heat resulting in a spark from
the thermostat igniting the fire. The police have since ruled out foul
play.

The police said Zanu PF’s Rugare Gumbo was forcing them to arrest
MDC youths in connection with the inferno although police investigations
have shown that the incident was purely a faulty refrigerator rather than a
politically motivated incident.

“We are being told to make arrests,
but who do we arrest? The fire was started by a faulty fridge, which sparked
and started the fire. What do we do?” asked a petrified police officer who
refused to be named.

Gumbo is the Zanu PF national spokesperson and a
losing parliamentary candidate in the Midlands South province in the 2008
elections.

Gumbo was on ZBC TV last week alleging that MDC supporters had
burnt the shop in Mberengwa East, belonging to a war veteran
Ndovisai.

In the early hours of last week Sunday at Nhenga Dam Business
Centre, a shop belonging to a war veteran and Zanu PF member, Charles
Ndovisai, caught fire destroying property and goods worth thousands of
dollars.

Police
Block MDC, Mavambo Rallies

Police in Lupane East on Monday blocked a rally
organized by the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) wing led by Industry
Minister Welshman Ncube saying all their manpower was in Victoria Falls for
President Robert Mugabe’s security.

The party condemned the move
charging that law enforcement agents were being used by Zanu PF to slow down
its momentum.

The Ncube MDC has held rallies in different parts of the
country in recent months making its case to the electorate ahead of
elections scheduled for next year.

In a statement, the party said:
“This is a calculated move to frustrate our campaign for a just and fair
Zimbabwe. We are aware that as our party is growing rapidly, those that are
opposed to democracy will make an effort to overturn our revolutionary
train.”

Police were not immediately available for comment but Ncube MDC
spokesman Nhlanhla Dube said his party was outraged, adding that the ban had
no justification.

“The excuse given by the police is really a method
to restrict our growth, to limit our political activities and probably to
try and assist others to gain political space which we had taken,” Dube
said.Interview with Nhlanhla Dube

In a related development, the
Mavambo/Kusile/Dawn political party led by former Finance Minister Simba
Makoni, said it was also blocked by the police from holding a rally in
Karoi, Mashonaland west province, over the weekend.

The party’s secretary
for mobilization Phillip Chapfunga said despite having booked the venue a
few days earlier than the former ruling party, the police officers told them
they were under instructions to give Zanu PF first preference over any other
political party.

“We opted for an open space but they said there were no
sanitary facilities despite the fact that the consitution select committee
once held their outreach programs there," he said.

Chapfunga said:
“We thought we were equal partners in this political field but unfortunately
there are people who are more equal than others.”

Meanwhile, the
Parliamentary Select Committee (COPAC) responsible for writing the country’s
new constitution said the registration of delegates to the Second All
Stakeholders Conference was now expected to start Tuesday.

COPAC
co-chairman Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana of Zanu PF said the registration was
postponed from last weekend to allow his committee time to finalize the
issue.

COPAC met Monday with civic leaders to discuss a rejected
move calling on independent groups to submit names of participants through
political parties.

Mangwana told reporter Jonga Kandemiiri
accreditation teams have already left Harare for various centres around the
country.

National Association of Non-Governmental Organizations Chief
Executive Officer Cephas Zinhumwe said civic groups were now busy preparing
a list of their delegates for the conference.

Defence lawyer Mtetwa sheds tears in
court

Beatrice Mtetwa, the defence lawyer representing the 29 MDC members
today shed tears in the High Court after the State prosecutor; Edmore
Nyazamba requested the court to adjourn after only 26 minutes in
session.

Nyazamba had indicated that he could not avail another State
witness to testify because the witness had been hospitalised.

Mtetwa
said Nyazamba was abdicating his duties, lacked seriousness and was
interested in the prolonged incarceration of the accused. Emotions were
further evoked after a State witness Stephen Manjoro revealed that Cynthia
Manjoro, one of the 29 MDC members accused in the alleged murder of
Inspector Petros Mutedza was only being held as bait until the arrest of
Darlington Madzonga, who is said to have been using her car on the day the
alleged offence was committed.

Stephen is the brother to
Cynthia.

Stephen said Cynthia had only returned from church with her two
year old child and spent the better part of the day at home before she was
arrested.

Mtetwa shed tears as she quizzed the judge on what kind of
justice it was that would keep a mother of a two year old in prison when
there is overwhelming evidence that she had not committed a crime.

“A
police officer by the name of Makedenge indicated that Cynthia Manjoro will
only be released after Darlington Madzonga handed himself over to the
police,” Stephen said.

Testifying before the same court earlier today
was Constable Victor Mafavhuke from Glen View police station who arrested
some of the accused MDC members. Mafavhuke admitted that he had not seen the
MDC members committing the crime but only acted on information he had
gathered from an informer.

Asked to reveal the informers, Mafavhuke said
he would not, under whatever circumstance reveal the source. Mafavhuke
further gave conflicting evidence during cross examination on whether he had
seen the accused prior to the arrest by saying he had seen the accused at
Glen View 4 shops.

In his sworn statement taken a day after the incident
by the police, Mafavhuke indicated that he had not seen the accused but was
informed that the accused were amongst the people who had killed
Mutedza.

Constable Mafavhuke indicated that he had not recorded anything
in police records but in his notebook which he swore could be brought to
court. He further said no identification parades were taken after the arrest
of the suspects and he had not given identification particulars of the
accused to the investigating officer a Mr Ntini.

The defence also
proved to the court that Constable Mafavhuke arrested the accused after they
had been apprehended by Zanu PF youths for wearing MDC
T-shirts.

Evidence given earlier in court by other police officers
indicated that Constable Mafavhuke was involved in the parade that was later
carried out at Harare Central Police Station but he denied this saying he
had not participated in such a parade to authenticate identities of the
arrested suspects.

Constable Mafavhuke admitted in Court that he had
no knowledge on whether the accused had indeed participated in the alleged
crime.

Harare, October 16, 2012 - Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai was Tuesday reported to have fired his right hand man Ian Makone
from his office after the former was found to have been bankrolling his
former lover Lorcadia Karimatsenga during her fierce court battle with the
embattled premier.MDC-T sources told RadioVop Tuesday Tsvangirai replaced
Makone with Kent Law University senior lecturer Alex Magaisa to the position
of Chief of Staff in the Prime Minister’s Office.

“Tsvangirai fired
Makone after he had discovered he was advising Locardia Karimatsenga in her
court case with him and was also financing her throughout the process,” said
the source on condition of anonymity.

Tsvangirai suffered a setback in
his bid to wed his new wife Elizabeth Macheka under the civil marriage last
month after the courts ruled that he was still customarily married to
Karimatsenga.

The MDC-T leader is said to have proceeded to fire from his
office, former DJ James Maridadi who was director of protocol, Pastor
Lazarus Muriritirwa who was principal director for policy
implementation.

Tsvangirai also reassigned to Harvest House, his former
personal assistant Ghandi Mudzingwa.

It was not clear why Maridadi
and Muriritirwa were fired although Maridadi is thought to be related to the
Makones.

Pastor Muriritirwa found himself in the papers last month when a
South African woman who claimed to have been promised marriage by Tsvangirai
fingered Muriritirwa as having converted his house into a love nest for her
and the premier.

It was said Theresa Makone, co-Home Affairs Minister
and wife to Makone was also in the line of fire.

The Makones are said
to have been having too much influence on Tsvangirai to a point of finding
girlfriends for the MDC-T leader, who lost his wife of three decades in a
tragic car crash 2009.

Reached for comment, Tsvangirai’s spokesperson
Luke Tamborinyoka suggested there have indeed been changes within the Prime
Minister’s Office but denied the foursome was fired.

“The Prime
Minister reserves the right to make changes to his office but to say that
anyone has been fired is to mislead and to speculate. If indeed there are
any changes, then a statement would be made,” said Tamborinyoka

Zanu
(PF) officials fail to pays workers

Prominent Bulawayo businessman and
senior Zanu (PF) official Ernest Marima, is failing to pay employees working
at his business empires dotted around town.16.10.12

by Zwanai
Sithole

Workers at Royal Hotel owned by Zanu (PF) official Ernest
Marima have not been paid since July this year.Marima, who is one of the
Zanu (PF) committee members who fundraises for President Robert Mugabe's
21st February Movement national celebrations owns several hotels,
supermarkets, farms, bakeries and a couple of buildings in the
city.

Marima's workers who spoke to the Zimbabwean this week complained
that they last received their full salaries in May this year while others
said they have been getting part of their pay since then.

"We have
not received our salaries since May this year. We have tried to engage
Marima over the issue but it seems he is not interested in the workers'
welfare. All he is interested in is donating to Zanu (PF) while his workers
are suffering "said a worker employed at one of the Hotels who refused to be
named for fear of victimization. Another worker who also refused to be named
said following numerous complaints of starvation by the workers and their
families, the workers were recently asked by the management to take
groceries on account at one of the businessman's supermarket.

"This
facility has even made things worse for us. Some workers have received
shocking bills for groceries which they did not take. They are simply told
that the money will be deducted from our salaries" said the
worker.

The workers said their plight was also worsened by the fact that
they do not have a workers committee to represent them.

The workers
said they have now resorted to other means of raising money for transport,
school fees and food.

When reached for comment, Marima said his
businesses are facing liquidity problems.

"It's true that a number of
our workers are yet to receive their salaries.

Like all other businesses,
we are facing challenges. It is also not true that workers are being
victimized," said Marima.

Marima, along other Zanu (PF) activists was in
2008 appointed a special councilor for the city of Bulawayo by Ignatius
Chombo, the Minister of Local government .The MDC-T dominated Bulawayo city
council however fiercely resisted the appointees, insisting that the
councilors were not representing any special interest. Marima has donated at
various Zanu (PF) functions in the province. One of his Hotels, Royal Hotel
is used by Zanu (PF) to hold meetings free of charge.

Marondera
Residents Snub Budget Consultation Meeting

The parliamentary budget committee Monday
started the 2013 budget consultation meetings with a low turnout in
Marondera as residents in the Mashonaland East capital complained that they
were not given enough time to attend the public sessions.

Less than
30 people attended the meeting but team leader and Makoni West legislator,
Webber Chinyadza said they captured inputs from war veterans, farmers and
others.

Chinyadza said the residents were worried about lack of
government support in agricultural activities designed to boost the
sector.

On the low turnout, he said it was unfortunate that many people
did not seem to understand the role of parliament in the budget formulation
process and opt to make submissions to treasury.

Treasury is expected
to commence its own nationwide budget consultations Wednesday in
Marondera.Meanwhile, about 50 people attended the budget meeting in
Chinhoyi, Mashonaland West.

Residents told the committee that the
executive should minimize foreign trips as the economy cannot sustain such
travels.

Abigail Sauti of Chikonohono high density suburb told the
committee that the president’s motorcade should be drastically
reduced.

Most people agreed that more money should be channeled towards
reviving industries and the mining sector in order to create employment for
youths.

Some participants said treasury should allocate more resources to
local authorities in order to improve service delivery. Most cities are
facing acute shortages of water.

Parliamentary budget
committee chairman Paddington Zhanda says budget consultation meetings are
not all about the size of participants but quality contributions by members
of the public and other stakeholders.

Roderick Fayayo, director
of the Progressive Residents Association said the budget consultation
meetings are a waste of time for some local people.

‘Zimbabwe
Spending Too Much on Defence and Military’ - Report

The Zimbabwean government is spending too
much on defence and the military at the expense of other development sectors
such as education, says a senior official in the splinter Movement
Democratic Change (MDC), lead by Professor Welshman Ncube.Earlier this
month Zimbabwe opened its $98 million National Defence College.

Zimbabwe
is currently being run by a joint administration, bringing together the
three major political parties in the country – Ncube’s MDC, Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC-T and President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF
party.

Tsvangirai has criticised African leaders for “investing in
arms and the military”. David Coltart, Zimbabwe’s Education Minister, has
castigated Zimbabwe’s excessive spending on the military and defence for a
country that is not at war. He said Zimbabwe’s "defence has been allocated
$35 million" in the first half of the current year while education has
received only $5 million, about 6% of the money budgeted for
education.

"We are spending so much on defence and only a pitiful amount
on education. If we don't address these issues then the education of an
entire generation will be lost."

However, the views of Tsvangirai and
Coltart are in sharp contrast with those of Mugabe, whose ZANU-PF party has
seconded army personnel to senior positions in state parastatals and other
government organisations. Retired Major-General Mike Nyambuya was appointed
to head the National Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Board two weeks
ago in the latest move to militarise key institutions. Key parastatals and
strategic public institutions in which ex-military personnel are heavily
involved include the National Railways of Zimbabwe, Grain Marketing Board,
Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings,
Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe and Zimpapers.

Last month, Mugabe
officially opened the National Defence College just outside Harare which was
built with assistance from China, with whom Zimbabwe is said to enjoy
stronger military ties. In his address, he said there was need to enhance
the security systems and intelligence systems of Zimbabwe.

He said
China and Pakistan would avail expert military training for Zimbabwean army
personnel at the defence college. Those to be trained there include military
personnel from the ranks of colonel and others ranked above the
colonels.

The defence college, built on a total area of 40,000 square
meters, was constructed at a cost of $98 million (loaned by China) and took
two years to complete.

China is Zimbabwe’s leading arms supplier,
providing at least $66 million worth of small arms during Zimbabwe’s
involvement in the civil war in the DRC (1998-2002). Since 2004 China has
sold to Zimbabwe 139 military vehicles and 24 combat aircraft. Last year it
was reported that Zimbabwe had taken delivery of 20 000 AK-47 assault rifles
from China, together with other military and civil security
equipment.

However, Zimbabwe sometimes struggles to take delivery of
weapons due to sanctions. In 2008 South Africa prevented delivery of six
containers of small arms and equipment when they stopped the China Ocean
Shipping Company’s vessel An Yue Jiang from unloading in Durban. The weapons
on board were shipped by Poly Technologies Incorporated of
China.

According to the International Peace Information Service (IPIS), a
Belgian research hub, in August 2008, 53 tons of ammunition were allegedly
flown from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Harare. The ammunition was
flown by Enterprise World Airways, aboard a Boeing 707-3B4C aircraft
registered as 9Q-CRM.

The first shipment on August 21 contained 32
tons of 7.62mmx54 cartridges. Two days later a second shipment arrived,
containing 20 tons of 7.62mmx39 cartridges, which are used in AK-47s. The
ammunition arrived in Zimbabwe four months after the arms shipment was
turned away at Durban, only to be flown into the country later from Angola,
the report claimed.

Despite denials from Luanda and Beijing, an employee
of the state-owned Zimbabwe Defence Industry (ZDI) in Harare told IPIS that
the shipment, which contained mortar bombs, rockets and ammunition, had
arrived in the country.

“The most prominent supplier of arms to Zimbabwe
has been China, which supplied more than one-third of the volume of
Zimbabwe’s major weapons between 1980 and 2009,” the Stockholm International
Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has said.

The Institute said that
China supplied 100 Dongfeng military vehicles to Zimbabwe via the Mozambican
port of Beira in early 2005.

David Maynier, the Democratic Alliance’s
defence spokesman said South Africa “should not be exporting conventional
arms to a repressive regime such as Zimbabwe" after it emerged that South
Africa had sold military equipment worth R2.2 million to
Zimbabwe.

"The fact is there has been a de facto arms embargo on
exporting conventional arms to Zimbabwe for nearly a decade,” he said.

Mugabe looks east at a questionable cost

China's roots have sunk deep in Africa, and nowhere has it found
soil more welcoming than in Zimbabwe. Seven years since China declared its
"Look East" policy, it's not clear whether Chinese investment is delivering
the returns that Zimbabwe's leaders are claiming.

President Robert
Mugabe's Maoist economics have beggared a country that 10 years ago was
second only to South Africa in economic output in the region. The
88-year-old president has clung to power since the end of minority white
rule in 1980, using a combination of force against opponents and relying on
the patronage of key supporters.

It was his turning loose of informal
militia's against white minority farmers, who underpinned the economy, in
2000 that signaled a

sea change in the country's fortunes. By replacing
skilled agriculturalists with untrained black farmers, Zimbabwe slid into a
lost decade marked by bouts of hunger, mass poverty and an exodus of its
professional middle class.

Mugabe's increasingly acrimonious
relationship with the West, especially former colonial power Britain,
eventually led to targeted sanctions against Mugabe and his inner circle in
2005. It was this that prompted Mugabe to announce a new policy, with his
customary eloquence, at a public rally: "We have turned east where the sun
rises, and given our backs to the West where the sun sets."

It's a
relationship that has deepened ever since although it's not always clear who
benefits, and at what cost. As a gesture of friendship Beijing helped
sponsor the building of a rambling retirement home for Mugabe in the leafy
suburb of Borrowdale Brook in the capital, Harare.

He and his wife,
Grace, who would drop up to US$50,000 a time at Harrods in London, are now
banned from the European Union and the United States. Instead, they
regularly jet off to Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia, where Grace can be
spotted loading up on designer brands at boutique stores.

Their daughter,
Bona, graduated from City University in Hong Kong last year, and the family
reportedly have a $7 million house here. A few years ago a British
journalist was beaten up by Mugabe bodyguards when he tried to photograph
the Mugabe's Hong Kong residence.

In Zimbabwe itself, signs of the
blooming relationship are everywhere. Arrivals at the international airport
- built by a Chinese firm - will be greeted by large signs in English and
Putonghua - but nothing in the local Shona languages.

The Zimbabwean government itself is doing
everything possible to sell the benefits of Chinese investment to its
skeptical population. On the face of it, Zimbabwe would be an excellent
investment destination. It has the world's second-largest platinum reserves,
abundant deposits of gold, diamonds, chrome and other strategic minerals. It
also has fertile farmland and a population that enjoys the best literacy
rate in Africa.

In the past month alone announcements linking Chinese
companies to billion-dollar investments have been made. The Guangdong Bureau
of Coal Geology plans to invest $3.5 billion to build a 1,200 megawatt
thermal power plant in Zimbabwe, according to reports in the Herald
newspaper, a government mouthpiece. Another announcement claims China will
spend $1.2 billion upgrading water supplies in the south east of the
country.

In the same week, published reports by state media said China
Railway was to build a high speed train between the capital and the
industrial city of Bulawayo, 600 kilometers to the south east.

But,
apart from this steady stream of announcements from Zimbabwean government
sources, there appears to be little else to give substance to these deals.
The high speed rail link, for instance, was announced in the Herald
newspaper; but a senior China Railway official, who spoke to Asia Times
Online in Harare, said he was unaware of the project until he saw it
mentioned in the local media.

Instead he said, speaking on condition
of anonymity, China Railway was, like many potential investors in the
resource-rich country, waiting for political stability before committing
itself to projects.

"We come, we look, we wait. We want to invest here
but the time is not now. It is not yet stable enough."

There are
suggestions that the ruling party is punting deals where none exist as it
gears up to go once more to the polls in March next year. ZanuPF has been
locked in an uncomfortable unity government with opposition movements since
2008, following a deal brokered by regional leaders desperate to end the
economic fallout of Zimbabwe's implosion on their countries.

Real
power has remained with Mugabe and his inner circle however. With polls
looming, it is quite likely that China is once again being trotted out as
Zimbabwe's rescuer.

The United Nations Conference on Trade and
Investment World Investment Report 2011 shows that Zimbabwe recorded foreign
direct investment (FDI) of $105 million, compared to another southern
African country, Angola's $9 billion for the same period. According to
information from China's ministry of commerce, annual FDI from China to
Zimbabwe was between $35 million and $45 million annually between 2008 and
2010.

Chinese companies that have already made active investments are
beginning to find that ventures come with a hefty price tag. They are being
pushed into financing projects that make little economic sense, in addition
they are encouraged to top up ZanuPF's election war chest.

Among the
companies operating in the country are Anjin - involved in a diamond venture
with entities linked to Zimbabwe's military - as well as a company
affiliated with Anjin, the Anhui Foreign Economic Construction
Company.

Anjin operates in the controversial but fabulously
productive Marange diamond field. The quantity of stones and value of their
sale is not disclosed, but British watchdog NGO Global Witness released a
report recently that says the Marange diamonds are laundered through a
network of tax havens, front companies and nominee shareholder, with very
little proceeds finding their way to official tax
receipts.

Zimbabwe's finance minister Tendai Biti - a member of the
official opposition who has little actual authority - said recently that the
Marange operations were producing an estimated $600 million a year in
earnings, but that only $30 million had been received in tax
contributions.

Instead, proceeds end up in the pockets of a handful of
connected officials, mostly military officers, and of course with Anjin, say
Global Witness. But as election season approaches, the ruling ZanuPF needs
to demonstrate to voters that it is indeed delivering benefits from its
joint-venture with Anjin. This is where Anhui, the construction company
affiliated with Anjin comes in.

Anhui recently completed a
multi-million dollar Zimbabwe Defense College, which opened last month, and
is building a hotel and shopping mall worth over $200 million in
Harare.

"It is a massive project indeed, I had no idea what size it would
be, even what shape it would take but I was aware that our Chinese friends
were building this mall and will build a hotel later," Mugabe told reporters
at the site during a tour of the complex recently.

Given the parlous
state of Zimbabwe's economy, hotels and malls are likely to stand empty for
years to come. They do however provide Mugabe with much-needed photo
opportunities and flagship projects to show off to a battered
electorate.

Anhui was also mentioned in a bizarre project to turn
Harare's prisons into shopping malls, and build new jails for its 4,000 or
so inmates, which it will then run on behalf of the Zimbabwean
government.

The funding for Anhui's projects is unclear, but it is widely
believed to come from the Chinese cut of Anjin's diamond venture, and that
Mugabe's party is pressuring its partners to produce investment projects -
like malls and dams - to bolster its support ahead of the upcoming
elections.

In the run-up to the previous elections in 2008, Anjin was a
major donor to ZanuPF's election campaign, giving $100 million according to
some reports.

Ultimately projects being announced on a weekly basis will
be entirely dependent on Chinese companies footing the bill. Zimbabwe's
"Look East" policy will therefore continue to feature in the headlines of
the country's media.

Gavin du Venage is a business writer in South
Africa, specializing in commodity and investment analysis.

Nurses
step up to initiate HIV treatment

HARARE, 16 October 2012 (PlusNews) - Faced with the
ambitious target of reaching 85 percent of people in need of HIV treatment by
the end of 2012, the Zimbabwean government has announced that nurses will be
trained to prescribe and manage antiretroviral (ARV) drug treatment.

Experts
welcomed the move but warned that nurses would have to be adequately prepared
and supported to take on the additional duties. Previously, nurses were allowed
only to administer the drugs after a doctor had prescribed them. Now, changes
made in the job descriptions of nurses by the Nurses’ Council of Zimbabwe will
see them prescribing the medication.

"Those
nurses that have received training on the management of patients living with HIV
and drug administering will be allowed to take up this responsibility. The
government, with the support of its partners, began this training many years
ago, and the training is actually still ongoing. I need to point out that it's
not enough that a professional council allow nurses to administer drugs; this
should be followed up with measures to capacitate nurses to do this work
correctly," stressed Owen Mugurungi, head of HIV/AIDS and TB in the Ministry of
Health and Child Welfare.

Expanding
reach

With
doctors in short supply, many people living with HIV are forced to wait long
periods before they can start taking ARVs. This is particularly problematic for
those living in rural areas, where doctors often serve more than one health
facility, and are likely to visit each facility only once or twice a month.

“It
is cost-effective and can deliver effective community-based care to people
living with HIV by expediting treatment roll-out and increasing access to
treatment, as nurses have more daily contact with patients than doctors,” said
Itai Rusike, executive director of the Community Working Group on Health.

In
2010, a South Africanstudydivided HIV patients into two groups - one
received ARV therapy from doctors, the other from nurses. Both the nurses and
doctors had been inexperienced in ARV management and received similar training
from clinicians, who were on call for the duration of the study to answer
questions. After 120 weeks, the patients managed by nurses were no more likely
to have been lost to follow-up, to have failed treatment or to have died than
those under a doctor’s care.

Concerns

However,
Rusike noted that adding to nurses’ responsibilities comes with its own
challenges, including possible work overload and burnout and the need to
increase payment for staff and training.

The
government, facing inadequate resources and already struggling to pay civil
servants’ salaries, recently froze the recruitment of nurses. Although the
training of nurses will continue, this freeze has greatly affected service
delivery at public health facilities.

Activists
have also raised concerns about the supply of ARVs. “Our biggest challenge in
Zimbabwe has been the erratic availability of ARVs or drug stock-out,” said
Rusike. “This may also increase nurses’ frustrations, especially at the
primary-care level, where there is poor drug distribution thereby affecting
continuity for patients initiated on ART [antiretroviral therapy]. The resulting
consequence can be drug resistance.”

“We
have heard numerous stories of drug stock-outs in some provinces, of people on
treatment sharing drugs as a result, and of even drugs expiring while some
people are dying from lack of access to treatment. This is very disturbing, and
it must be addressed,” warned Stanley Takaona of the Zimbabwe HIV/AIDS Activist
Union.

An
audit released in May by the comptroller and auditor-general's department
revealed that ARV drugs had expired on the shelves of public health
facilities.

But
with a US$84 million grant by theGlobal Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and
Malaria,
the country will put in place a six-month ARV buffer stock to prevent treatment
interruptions for the 480,000 patients currently receiving the medication. The
funding will also cover the cost of ARVs for an additional 10,000 new patients
to help Zimbabwe reach its 85 percent coverage goal by the end of the year.

[This report does not
necessarily reflect the views of the United
Nations]

Democracy
in Zimbabwe won't necessarily result in prosperity

Vince Musewe says development of institutional managerial capacity
is critical

Democracy in Zimbabwe will not necessarily lead to
economic prosperity: We need revolutionary ideas and people to take Zimbabwe
to the next level

If there is anything we must be taught from South
Africa, it is the fact that democracy will not necessarily result in
economic prosperity and the amelioration of life conditions of the masses.
Despite a good infrastructure, a sophisticated financial sector, a diverse
industrial base and the largest GDP in Africa, 70% of black South Africans
remain poor while 60% of youth remain unemployed. South Africa's democracy
is failing to deal with the economic imperative of black empowerment and the
eradication of mass poverty. It is clear therefore that, democracy and
economic prosperity are in fact mutually exclusive.

We in Zimbabwe
must be circumspect, and realize that the best constitutional framework
needs to be supported by the creation of appropriate political and socio
economic structures designed to deliver economic value to all Zimbabweans;
otherwise we will be the architects of our own future problems and most
probably fail to move the country forward.

Our new economic program must
be inclusive in nature and must reject racism and partisan politics that
have decimated Zimbabwean pride and potential. Our politics have
deliberately marginalized a significant part of the country's productive
population and as a result, we have failed to reap the education dividend
that the country invested so much in immediately after political
independence.

If there is anything the last 32 years has achieved, it is
the obliteration of both our human capital and national assets especially in
agriculture and, to a large extent, in mining. Zimbabwe has the potential to
rise again, but only if we create space for new thinking and new leadership.
The results of the last 32 years of negligence must be clinically reversed
as we move into a new era of democracy underpinned by national pride and
economic development.

For me, the development of institutional
managerial capacity is more urgent if we are going to see any economic
development and prosperity. We are very educated in Zimbabwe, with a large
number of doctors and professors in almost every field of endeavour and yet,
we cannot even supply clean water to our people.

Our state
enterprises are a joke and almost all the large developmental projects on
hand, are mired in political interference, resource misallocation,
corruption and incompetence. For example, it has taken us almost 16 years to
construct a 40 km stretch of road to the airport. Our Harare water works
were built 56 years ago to cater for 300,000 people and are clearly
inadequate to cater for a population in excess of 2 million. This means that
for the last 56 years nothing has been done to expand them. Unfortunately
this is a common trend in almost everything we have touched; democracy is
not necessarily going to change that.

It is also quite evident to all
that the GNU has dismally failed to begin turn around a hopeless economic
condition. What it has achieved, in my opinion, is to somewhat stabilize the
fall and provide a soft landing to what would have been a catastrophic
economic crash. It has acted as a band aid to a festering wound that now
needs our urgent attention.

One fundamental challenge we shall face is
the successful planning and implementation of developmental projects. Our
institutional managerial capacity as a country has hit rock bottom, and in
my opinion, no amount of funding will correct that. As a country, we cannot
even organize to collect our own waste and yet, we must undertake the
mammoth projects of rebuilding our infrastructure.

I am of the
opinion that our focus must be first, to create appropriate social
management structures including a restructured government. We desperately
require a "new age government" that includes transparency, delivery and the
effective use of technology. We also to note that Zimbabwe has an unlimited
skills base which we desperately need. We need them back now and we also
need revolutionary ideas to take our country to the next level

In my
opinion, after elections, we must not blindly adopt the old system of
government which has created a silo mentality, where ministers act in their
silos as if what they do has no impact and is unrelated to the others. This
has tended to promote narrow thinking and a partisan mentality while it has
been ineffective in providing sustainable solutions. The separation of
responsibility around ministerial boundaries based on the traditional
economic sectors has contributed to ineffective government system and
promoted rampant corruption. South Africa shows us a clear example of how
this structure is not delivering on social progress.

Every system is
designed to give you're the results that you get. Change the system and you
achieve different results.

My point here is that: a new democracy in
Zimbabwe must radically change the way we have done things in the past, it
must change the structure of government, must make full use of the diverse
pool of talent and the national assets that we have and finally, it must
remove all vestiges of the ZANU (PF) legacy of entitlement, managerial
incompetence and corruption.

It is only when we have done the above, that
we are likely to achieve economic progress and thus create better conditions
of life for all Zimbabweans. My anxiety continues to be enlarged as we see
the incessant focus on the attainment of political power and position
without the necessary open debate on how that power ought to be used to our
best advantage. Several hundreds of ministers, deputy ministers, senators,
governors, chiefs, councilors and their hangers on as contemplated in the
new constitution will not add an iota of value to our economic progress and
prosperity.

I fear the worst.

Vince Musewe is an independent
economist currently in Harare. You can contact him on vtmusewe@gmail.com